Moment of Truth - for Management

In the last couple of years management circles have begun to discuss "moments of truth" in relationship to having those difficult conversations that are necessary for process improvement, growth and development. Being able to "handle the truth" (in the fashion of Jack Nichelson's character from the movie "A Few Good Men") is essential to being able to solve problems, put them behind you and move forward.

Knowing that people are becoming more and more familiar with the term "moment of truth", when faced recently with a communication issue that had left hurt feelings within my staff members, and me questioning my own abilities, I requested a moment of truth conversation with my boss.

By specifically using the moment of truth phrase, my boss was alerted to the fact that the conversation might be a difficult one to "handle", but that it would be necessary to resolve a problem or make improvement. He was immediately prepared to not be evasive or defensive, but to listen to the problem and seek solutions.

The isssue to discuss boiled down to a breakdown in communications from the boss's office to my department and staff members. Due to the breakdown, my staff had hurt feelings and a perception that my boss did not trust them or our department. Luckily, due to using the moments of truth phrase to preface raising this issue, our focus was on problem resolution - not on blaming, evading, or covering up. It worked very well and I left the office that evening feeling better than ever about my work and my confidence in not only my job, but my staff. I couldn't wait to talk with the staff members the next day to share the moment of truth experience with them so that they could be a part of developing the solution.

I'd love to hear your comments or experiences in similar situations - let me know at sandra@skysthelimit-hr.com or by comment to this blog.